DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters are the creations of Joss Whedon and copyright of 20th Century Fox and Mutant Enemy, Inc. Nemesis is an original character from my Watchtower Gargoyles series. Briarley and Prophecy are original characters from my Witchhaven County series.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter contains some spoilers from the final episode of Angel. There is also some violence.
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Chapter 9: Song of Destiny
By Shadow's Mirror
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"If Angel starts to sing, I'm staking myself."
"Hey, I know you. Paris, 1793. You threw a net over me and helped my dinner escape."
"You are a child of the sea. I do not know you. Why do you come to my aid?"
"Not to be rude, but when I get saved by a hooded stranger in the middle of fighting for my life, I usually like to know the reason for it."
Spike, Angel, Illyria and Gunn's voices sounded overly loud in the sudden stillness of the alley, making them aware that something was different. They looked around, their surprise obvious on their faces as they realised what had happened.
At some point, they had been maneuvered into a group with the four strangers positioned between them and the demons, who had all retreated to a wary distance with the astonishing speed of those with strong instincts for self-preservation. The demons watched the group intently, awaiting the answers from the newcomers as eagerly as the four champions. The silence was broken only by the sound of the teeming rain striking the concrete, and the soft music still lingering in the air.
The hooded woman smiled slightly at Gunn's question to her. She glanced at the demonic circle around them before returning her attention to the four bedraggled and exhausted warriors standing before her. Although her reply was given to Gunn, her soft voice effortlessly filled the alley so that no one present missed a single word.
"Long ago, the forces of darkness began to wage war on the forces of the light. But, being what they are, they chose to cloak their battles in silence and secrecy. When they act, they take care to keep themselves from being discovered. They are experts at making others appear to be the cause of chaos or trouble. Because of that, for many centuries the light has remained unaware that the final battle, the ultimate apocalypse, has already begun. Although it has become clear that the darkness over the world is spreading, its grasp tightening, there was never any sign of it being anything other than a normal shift in the balance between light and darkness. Such a thing is not unusual. It has happened many times before. One side becomes more powerful for a time and then the scales tip the other way. There was nothing to indicate that this was anything more than that. Until recently."
She turned slightly towards Angel, now directing her words at him. "There are those who have been watching you and your companions for some time now, but this past year has been of particular interest. When Wolfram and Hart gave you their offices here, there were many who were skeptical of their stated reasons for doing so. It was clear that they wanted you and your companions on their side. That caused us to wonder. The Senior Partners are not known for their eagerness, but there was no hesitation in what they did. Their actions suggested that they had a specific plan in mind for you. The more we watched, the more we learned, and finally… the more we understood."
Her voice rose just a little, as though she wanted to be sure that everyone could hear her. "Tonight you faced the darkness on their terms. You defeated them. Even though they will recover swiftly from what you did, in one way their defeat will be permanent… and costly."
The hooded woman suddenly whirled around to face the watching demons. Now, her words were directed at them. "Tonight, for the first time in countless years, the scale tipped and the balance between light and darkness, good and evil, was altered. Even though it was only for one bright and shining moment, that change did not go unnoticed. As we speak, the news is spreading. By dawn, all those of the light will know what has happened in this city tonight. For the first time in ages, they will know that the darkness is not invincible. And when that knowledge comes to them, they will regain in that moment something that the darkness has been slowly draining from them all this time. The one thing that the darkness has no defense against. The thing it fears most."
She paused for a moment, allowing the drama to build, then spoke a single word. "Hope."
A ripple of movement ran through the demonic horde at the word. More than a few of the demons paled and some looked as though they'd like to be anywhere except where they were. But the hooded woman wasn't finished yet. She took a slow step forward, then began to speak again.
"When news reached me of what had happened, I knew that the Senior Partners' vengeance would be swift. But I also suspected that, in their fury, they might overlook certain details. I was correct. They have done everything in their power to be sure of the outcome of this battle. They have brought in mercenaries, they have called in favours, they have written contracts… and they have neglected to consider the possibility that these four champions might not be alone in this battle any longer."
The demons stirred uneasily at that, but she ignored them and continued to speak. "The Senior Partners made a mistake. They tried to manipulate destiny. In doing so, their plans came to our attention. We were not pleased by what we learned. We decided to intervene. We have cast a spell. A very ancient, and incredibly powerful, spell. On the surface, the magic appears to have done nothing except bring the four of us into the battle. But that is just the beginning, I assure you."
She glanced around at the demons for a moment before continuing. "The spell is called the Song of Destiny. It freezes time. Only for a moment, but in that moment the fates of those for whom the song is being sung entwine with those of the singers. So their fates," she gestured at Angel, Spike, Illyria and Gunn, "are now one with ours," she indicated herself, Sweet, Nemesis and Briarley. "Our appearance at their sides was merely a side-effect of that, it was not the entire spell. But it does make it easier for us to destroy you all now."
"Bah! Enough talk! Your pathetic attempts at fooling us will not work!" One of the demons, the humanoid one who had been battling Illyria with his enchanted blades, stepped forward. His dark eyes flashed with fury as he snarled at the hooded figure. "I know magic. If the spell is truly that powerful, then it would have taken all of your combined strength to cast it! Meaning that you are now weak! If your fates are bound to theirs, that only makes it easier. If we kill you, we'll get rid of them too!" He started to move forward, raising his sword as he prepared to strike.
The hooded woman moved faster than any eye there could follow. Silver flashed through the air, followed by a bright burst of dark crimson. The warrior paused in mid-attack, a look of astonishment flashing across his face before it became blank and he fell to the ground. The watching demons shifted uneasily as the hooded woman calmly rested the tip of her sword on the ground in front of her.
"Would anyone else care to try that?" The amusement in her voice was a clear indicator of how foolish it would be to respond, but if there had been any doubt it would surely have been erased by the sight of the sword in her hand. It was a fine weapon, obviously forged with great skill, but the runes inscribed on the blade and the faintly pulsing jewels on its hilt indicated that it was far more than that. It was a weapon of great magic. It also appeared to be singing softly to itself.
From somewhere towards the back of the demonic horde, there was a burst of light. The next moment, a fireball came blazing down the alley, causing the startled demons in its path to duck out of the way, except for a few who decided that diving for cover was the better option. A burst of song came from towards the back of the group, where Nemesis was standing, and the fireball suddenly halted in its flight. The demons eyed it warily. When it spun around and shot back they way it had come, quite a few didn't need to duck because they hadn't bothered getting up after the first time it had gone over.
As a loud yell came from the singed mage who had just received the full effects of his own spell, Nemesis smirked. "Serves him right for trying it. A fireball… my, how very unoriginal."
Sweet studied a group of demons nearby. They were tense and looked as though they were thinking about doing something really stupid. Like attacking. "Would you boys prefer to do a ballad or something more upbeat? I'm into jazz myself, but I do take requests." He smiled at them and they quickly edged away, looking very nervous. Apparently they'd heard of him. His smile widened.
"So… it seems that you do still have strength enough to fight, even after casting your spell. This should be an interesting battle." The gruff voice came from off to the right. One of the Knashifesh demons stepped forward, his dark eyes gleaming as his hands tightened on his sword.
"There will be no more fighting. Not tonight. This battle is over."
The voice was female and accented with a soft Irish lilt. It also seemed to be coming from somewhere up above the main group of demons. Everyone looked up. Then everyone stared in disbelief.
Spike finally broke the silence. "Well… a talking cat floating in a bubble. You don't see that every night."
The large bubble floated gently down, carrying its mist-grey passenger safely to the ground in front of the hooded woman. It shimmered and vanished. The cat hissed as the rain immediately drenched her fur. "Ooh! That's cold!" She sighed and muttered, "Honestly, the things I do for him." She glared around at the watching demons, obviously not happy about being out in the rain.
"Now listen up! The sooner we get this sorted out, the sooner we can all get back to our nice dry homes. You are all here for one reason. You were contracted by Wolfram and Hart's Senior Partners to destroy Angel, Spike, Illyria and Gunn. Am I correct?" She didn't wait for an answer. "If you have a look at your contracts, I think you will find that they are all missing something rather important." Her emerald-green eyes flashed. "A signature! Without that signature, those contracts are meaningless. Pieces of parchment, nothing more. Which means, that Wolfram and Hart are not obliged to honour the terms of payment written on them!"
The demons started muttering to each other. More than a few sneeked quick looks at pieces of paper that they pulled from pockets, wallets and, in the case of three hags off to one side of the group, handbags. From their glares and looks of shock, it seemed that the cat was not lying. Still, judging by the suspicion on most of the demons' faces, it also seemed that they weren't convinced that it wasn't some sort of trick.
"You are faced with a choice. You can leave this place now and live. Or you can remain here and die. With the contracts unsigned, you are under no obligation to fight. If you attack, you will be defeated and you will fall here, never to rise again. Even if you do somehow manage to survive, Wolfram and Hart will only refuse to pay..." The cat suddenly stopped speaking, her entire body going tense as her eyes closed and her head tilted as though she was listening to something that only she could hear.
The air in the alley suddenly tingled with energy, strong enough to be felt by everyone there.
"The wyrm shall fall from the sky and crush the foolish ones who fight on. The light shall win the battle and the heavens shall cease to weep. The Wolf, the Ram and the Hart will go on, but the light will shine ever brighter against them. Vengeance can be sought but once, before it turns back on itself."
The cat finished speaking and for a long moment, the only sound was the splash of the falling rain that showed no signs of easing. She opened her eyes and looked up, blinking at the demons staring at her.
"What? Anyone would think you had never seen a prophetic cat before…" She sniffed disdainfully and then looked up, eyeing the sky thoughtfully. The rain was coming down too hard to see clearly, but every now and then the dragon's cry made it clear that it was still up there, waiting for its chance to attack. "If I were you, I would make my decision swiftly. My words will soon come to pass."
The demons began to mutter urgently amongst themselves. The minutes ticked by without an attack as they continued to argue with each other. The general consensus seemed to be that things had become too uncertain to continue the fight. It was one thing to be contracted to kill two vampires, a human and a… whatever the blue-haired woman was. It was quite another to be expected to fight an additional four beings with unknown, but apparently powerful, magic and a talking cat who warned them of non-payment of their contracts and then threatened them with a falling dragon!
Finally, some of the smarter demons began to withdraw. They looked rather uncertain about it though and the others jeered at them for being cowards. When a loud screech rang from above and the dragon came plunging from the sky and fell on top of the jeering demons though, the rest of the demonic horde quickly retreated from the battle also. In fact, the term 'scurried' could have been applied to more than a few of them. Within moments, the alley was empty except for the nine figures grouped together.
Angel blinked. "That was… strangely anti-climactic." Spike nodded in agreement.
The hooded woman raised her head. "Listen." Everyone suddenly noticed how silent it was. The rain had stopped. As had the faint music that had been playing the entire time. "Briarley, catch him."
Before anyone could ask what she was talking about, Gunn groaned and collapsed, only Briarley's quick instincts preventing him from hitting the ground.
Spike glanced at Angel. "Looks like you spoke too soon, mate."
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